


Minor to Major

by ReyAndor19



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Armitage Hux Has Feelings, F/M, Gingerflower, Gingerrose - Freeform, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Kaydel is kinda salty, Movie: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Nice Armitage Hux, Not Canon Compliant, Not Canon Compliant - Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, POV Rose Tico, Rose Tico Deserved Better, Rose loves these crazy secret missions I guess, Roux - Freeform, She does not ship Gingerflower at all, The Force Ships It, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, What’s the official name anyway?, but...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:00:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 5,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22551388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReyAndor19/pseuds/ReyAndor19
Summary: “Wait a minute, you said there were going to be three of us,” Kaydel said, looking around. “Who else is coming?”Rose sighed. Here comes the hard part, she thought to herself. “Okay, whatever you do, don’t scream.”“Scream? Why would I-?” Rose cut her off with a look..“Just promise me you won’t.”“Fine. I think...”She smiled at Kaydel’s worried expression before walking over to the small bathroom. She knocked on the door exactly eight times as agreed, pausing briefly between each one. The door opened. Kaydel, true to her word, didn’t scream (though she had to cover her mouth with her hand to muffle a surprised squeak). “Kaydel, meet Armitage. Armitage, this is Kaydel.”This is what Rose, Kaydel, and Armitage did offscreen. Because none of them got enough screen time in TROS. So, the never seen before story of what truly happened.  Where the minor characters get a major part.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve only seen The Rise of Skywalker once, so not all the timings/quotes/storylines will be correct. Also, I may change small parts of the storyline to make this fit into the movie timeline.

“Are you sure about this?” Rose asked.

“Definitely. You need to get over here  _now_ , Rose.”

“Can’t you send them to us? That seems like a lot of danger for no reason.”

“I don’t have access to the Wayfinder. I would have to steal it, which would probably backfire without backup. How soon can you get here?”

“I can’t, the Resistance is falling apart. Leia...she um...she isn’t really uh she isn’t here...right now?” She tried to hold back the tears, but they came anyway. Leia had been a hero to her. To everyone at the base, really. But she and Rose had worked together closely after the Battle of Crait, and the General had become a mother figure to the mechanic. 

“Rose, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks Armitage,” Rose said, sniffling and wiping away the tears.

“Leia’s dead, isn’t she?” Of course he knew, he could always tell when something was wrong. 

“Yeah. She was amazing.”

“She was. Though she was pretty bad at raising her kid if you ask me.”

They both shared a laugh. It was common knowledge that Leia was the mother of Kylo Ren, the Supreme Leader of the First Order. And while Rose felt a little guilty about laughing, she knew Armitage was only trying to make her feel a bit better. 

“Rose,” he said, seriously this time. “Don’t be hard on yourself. Let me guess, her death had something to do with the Force and Jedi?”

Rose nodded.

“Then it’s out of your control. Now it’s your job to remember Leia. Do you think she would have wanted you to break down, let the sadness win? Or would she want you to stand strong and remember her? Make her proud, Rose. Okay?”

She took a deep breath. “Okay. Sorry. I can try to come as fast as I can, but Poe was supposed to lead after...after Leia couldn’t anymore, but he’s off on a mission with Finn and Rey. Everyone’s going crazy. I don’t know if I can get permission on time.” 

“Well, who needs permission anyway?” Armitage asked.

“Yeah no way. I am  _not_ going to be known as the girl who keeps stealing escape pods.”

“Keeps stealing?”  
”Long story, but Finn and I stole a ship to get to Canto Bight. To find a code breaker. To shut down the tracker. So the Resistance could escape. I have no clue why we thought it was a good idea...”

“What if I meet you there?”

“At the Resistance base? You’re going to get yourself killed!” Was he being serious? No. Of course not. But she rarely heard him joke around. 

“Assemble a team,” he instructed. “A small team. Maybe on or two others. People you trust. I’ll be there soon.”

“Wait, Arm-!”

_ Oh no. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.  _


	2. Chapter 2

_Assemble a team. Someone you trust._ Rose replayed the words in her mind. Who did she trust? Finn, but he was away on a mission. Paige, but she was dead.  _Maybe Leia...oh wait, never mind_.  Aside from her two close friends and sister, she didn’t know anyone in the Resistance.  _Come on, Arm’s counting on you. Find someone!_ Rose sighed and walked down to the heart of the base- the ship bunker. The few ships the Resistance had managed to scrape together stood waiting to be used. Aliens from all over the universe raced around.  _Not like they’re even doing anything_ ,  she thought, laughing to herself. It was typical to have to fight through enormous crowds of beings who were just running around for no reason. Except for some of the mechanics like her, or janitors, so-called ‘lower’ jobs that needed to be done 24/7, most rebels didn’t have anything to do until it was time for battle. Which, if Arm was right and there truly was a Sith army on Exegol, there would be fighting soon. She almost considered warning the leadership, but she had seen the command center. It was absolute bedlam. Even if she did manage to tell someone, they would turn around, find fifteen other new things to deal with, and forget her message immediately. 

Rose slipped through the crowds, searching for someone.  _ Who can I trust?  _ She heard a loud noise that sounded like rattling pans, and turned. A girl she’d seen around base and in the command center a few times was scrambling to pick up a stack of weapons. Rose somehow managed to make her way over to the girl. She knelt down and started to help pick up the weapons. 

“Don’t you have somewhere more important to be?” The girl asked, a hint of teasing in her voice.

“Honestly, no,” Rose admitted.

“Ugh, same here. All I do is run messages back and forth all day. Some pilot asked me if I could get him a cup of caf last week!”

“I hate when that happens!” Rose agreed. “When I got to my first day as a mechanic, someone thought I was just there to get supplies and caf, stuff like that.”

“Not like there’s even anything to do anyway. Poe and his group’s off to who-knows-where, and Leia’s...not here, and people are just rushing around like there’s actually something to do, and-“

“Wait, sorry to interrupt, but what’s your name?”

“Kaydel. You’re...?”

“Rose. Have you ever been to space? On a mission?”

“I’ve flown in ships, but never on a mission. I’m always at base.”

Rose smiled. She was finding she and this girl had more in common every second.

“Well Kaydel, how would you like to go on a mission?”  
”Command’s way too backed up,” Kaydel replied matter-of-factly. 

“I know. That’s why I’m getting a team together. There’s going to be three of us. It’s a secret, you can’t tell anyone. But if you want to, prepare to leave. It might be a few days before we can go. You want in?”`

Kaydel stared at her for a few minutes, probably trying to decide whether or not she was crazy. She quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching the two women crouched beside a pile of blasters, then leaned in. 

“I can be ready by tomorrow morning,” she whispered into Rose’s ear. “Does that work?”

Rose grinned. “Perfect.”


	3. Chapter 3

It had been three days since he’d informed her about the Wayfinder, and he still hadn’t called. Rose knew she had done all she could, recruiting Kaydel and securing supplies. But it didn’t stop her from spending hours checking over her plans and making a list over all the things that could be going wrong. What if the First Order caught him? What if he was lost somewhere? What if his ship had been blown up by the Resistance? What if? 

On the plus side, she and Kaydel had started to form a friendship while they waited. Rose was glad she had chosen Kaydel. Within days the two were able to trust each other completely. But she was still worried about Arm. Finally, during one of her worrying sessions, he called. She knocked over almost every organized pile of supplies in her hurry to answer. 

“Hi,” she greeted, barely able to contain her relief. “Where are you?”

“Outside your door, can you let me in?” He stuck out his lip in a fake pout as she hurried to the door. 

“You made it!” She whisper-cried. As excited as she was, they couldn’t let anyone know what was going on. The Resistance leadership would think she was a traitor for leading Arm to the base, and the two of them would most likely be executed. And the mission would fail. She pushed away her dark thoughts and let herself be excited that Arm was here- and safe- on Ajan Kloss.

“Yeah, sorry I took a while. But I have a ship. You have backup, right?” 

Rose stared at him for a minute. Did he seriously think she would forget?  “Her name’s Kaydel, I would trust her with my life, but she has no clue you’re here.”

“Well, now’s a great time to let her know.”

“Alright. I’ll go grab her. Just...hide or something. I’m going to warn her first. Um...” She quickly looked around the room. Can you hide in the bathroom?”

“On it Captain Tico.” He saluted and they both laughed. 

“When you hear eight knocks, it’s safe to come out. Okay?”

“Okay. Are you sure about this Kaydel?”

“I would trust her with my life,” Rose repeated.

“Alright. Good luck.” He kissed her check before ducking behind the door. She smiled and took a deep breath.  _ Okay, let’s go get Kaydel. And hopefully she won’t freak out... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Kaydel... xD


	4. Chapter 4

“Kaydel, we’re ready to go,” Rose whispered, knocking on her friend’s door.

“One minute!” She whisper-yelled back. A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal Kaydel’s excited grin. “Alright. Let’s do this.”

“Great.” Rose lead her down the hallways back to her own room. “Here’s our current base,” she said opening the door. “As you can see, it’s an absolute dump.”

Supplies were still scattered in her haste to answer Arm’s call, and broken tech littered her dresser. Her mechanic tools lay in a heap in the corner of the room, next to an X-wing part she was supposed to fix. Kaydel cautiously stepped in, surveying the mess. 

“Well,” she said brightly. ”This is a bit chaotic. But we’ll make do.” 

“Oh good, I was hoping you’d say that. But I promise it doesn’t always look like this.”

“I would hope not!” Kaydel laughed. “Anyway, what’s our plan?”

“We’re going to sneak into a First Order Star Destroyer and steal a Wayfinder to find a secret Sith army on a creepy planet Exegol, and hopefully we can inform the rest of the Resistance in time to stop the Sith army from taking over.”

Kaydel thought for a minute. “Seems dangerous, possibly suicidal. I like it. But, do we have a name yet?”

“A name?”

“Yeah, all the great battles and missions have names. Like the Battle of Yavin!” 

“I guess I didn’t really think about that... Any ideas?”

“I had one, but it’s not very good.”

“Better than none.”

“Have you heard of Rogue One?”

“Wait...is that the mission where Jyn Erso lead a ship of soldiers onto Scarif to find the Death Star plans?”

“Yeah. They called themselves Rogue One. Because their mission had been vetoed by the Rebellion, but she gathered a group and they traveled to Scarif anyway. Maybe we could name ourselves after them?”

“What are you thinking?” Rose was liking this idea so far.  
”Maybe Rogue Two? Or something related to their mission at least...”

“Rogue Two might work. Anything else?”

They both thought for a few minutes. 

“Wait a minute, you said there were going to be three of us,” Kaydel said, looking around. “Who else is coming?”

Rose sighed.  _ Here comes the hard part _ , she thought to herself. “Okay, whatever you do, don’t scream.”

“Scream? Why would I-?” Rose cut her off with a look.

“Just promise me you won’t.”

“Fine. I think...”

She smiled at Kaydel’s worried expression before walking over to the small bathroom. She knocked on the door exactly eight times as agreed, pausing briefly between each one. The door opened. Kaydel, true to her word, didn’t scream (though she had to cover her mouth with her hand to muffle a surprised squeak). “Kaydel, meet Armitage. Armitage, this is Kaydel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, poor Kaydel...


	5. Chapter 5

“So...this is the third person?” Kaydel stared at Rose. 

“Um...yes?”

“Are you out of your mind? He’s a _First Order_ general!”

“Technically, I’m a First Order general who spies for the Resistance,” Arm added.

“And how can we trust you?” Kaydel’s hand was on her blaster, ready to pull it out and shoot.

“Kaydel wait, he saved my life before! I think that should count for something.”

Kaydel turned. “You’re sure about this Rose? If he turns out to be a spy....”

“He won’t. I promise. Listen, I would trust him with my life. I already have multiple times. Besides, he got us a ship. Without one, we’re never getting out of here.”

“Alright,” she agreed, before shooting a look to Arm. “but that doesn’t mean I trust you yet. If Rose thinks you aren’t spying, then I trust her judgement. Not yours.”

Arm shrugged. “Fine by me. But I’m done with the First Order. Rose showed me that. The Resistance on the other hand... well they still murder people, but at least it’s not whole planets, right?”

Kaydel stared at him. Then she looked at Rose. “Wait a minute. Are you two...?”

“Yes, we love each other if that’s what you’re hinting at,” Arm answered, rolling his eyes.

Kaydel just stared some more. “This day is turning out very different than what I was expected.”

“Welcome to life,” Rose grinned, punching her friend lightly.

“But...if you’re on different sides?”

”For the last time, I’m a Resistance  _ spy _ ,” Armitage groaned. “I’m on  _ your  _ side.”

“Okay, okay, sorry!”

“Quit bickering you two,” Rose scolded. “Let’s get to the ship. You can sort out your differences there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully you’re enjoying the story so far! If you want to, vote on the name for Rose’s team in the comments. I wrote a few ideas I had, but it’s hard to choose just one!


	6. Chapter 6

Twenty minutes later, Rose was regretting her suggestion. “Would you two be quiet so I can focus on actually piloting this thing?” She finally cried, exhausted. “Kaydel, go organize and distribute the supplies evenly between all of us. Arm, I need a copilot.”

“Sorry,” they both apologized. Kaydel disappeared downstairs with a last distrustful look to Arm. Rose sighed, and turned to face her copilot.

“Do you even need help?”

“Honestly, no. I just wanted some time alone to talk. In _person_ for once.”

“Are you sure about this? You and Kaydel both understand that there’s a chance that you don’t walk out of there?”

“I do. Kaydel understands that this is dangerous...but she thinks you’re the danger. And I don’t know how to explain things to her.”

“Sometimes people just have to experience things to believe them. If someone told me three years ago that I would fall in love with a Resistance mechanic, I would have laughed in their face. But now, I’m here with you. And we might die, but I’m willing to die for you. For my enemy.”

“In a way, I don’t think we were ever enemies,” Rose admitted.

“We were. Or we thought we were. Good and evil...it just depends on your perspective, doesn’t it?”

“It does,” she murmured. “I just wish Kaydel could understand that. She still believes that the Resistance is perfect and the First Order is absolutely evil.”

“She’ll learn fast if she stays with this team.”

“I hope so,” Rose whispered. Then their lips met, and for the next half hour, she was able to forget everything other than the enemy who was her friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it seems like I’m seriously hating on the Resistance, I don’t. I just think it’s always portrayed as absolutely perfect, when both sides have their beliefs and faults. Sorry to any die-hard rebels reading.


	7. Chapter 7

“Okay, we’re coming up on Takodana,” Rose announced. “You’re _sure_ there’s a base here?” She surveyed the ruins carefully. There was no sign that anyone still lived in the demolished castle.

“The First Order tunneled under the rubble,” Arm explained. “That’s what makes the base so hard to find. They can easily hide, and the paths around the base aren’t always clear. It would be easy for any Resistance attack teams unfamiliar with the terrain to get lost, and the complicated patterns often end up at dead ends, making it easier for stormtroopers to corner the rebels.”

“Impressive,” Kaydel had to admit. “So how do we not get lost?”

“Once we get on base, Arm will lead us to a ship heading for the lead Star Destroyer- that shouldn’t be too hard, apparently a lot of ships head there. We’ll sneak onboard the ship, and eventually end up at the Star Destroyer.”

“And what if we’re caught?”

“Then you and I are rebels that he caught sneaking around the base.”

Kaydel frowned. “I don’t like that plan.”

“Well it’s the best we’ve got. Alright,” Rose sighed. “Does everyone understand the plan?”

A chorus of yeses followed.

“Great,” Kaydel said. “Wayfinders? Let’s do this!”

“Wayfinders?” Rose and Arm asked together.

Kaydel shrugged. “I’m working on it!”


	8. Chapter 8

“Rose, can we talk for a sec?” Kaydel asked quietly. “Alone?”

Rose turned to Arm, who shrugged. “I’ll wait outside. You two can chat in here.”  
Kaydel nodded gratefully before the door to the ship clicked shut.

“Look,” she said, “I don’t know about you, but I don’t trust him. You keep saying he’s on our side. Where’s your proof? I just don’t think he should be such a big part of our mission- what if he betrays us?”

“Except that won’t happen because I trust him with my life Kaydel. He saved me once, with absolutely no reason to. Arm might have worked for the First Order in the past, but now he’s trying to be a better person. To fight for the Resistance.”

“I suppose that’s what you’ll be saying when he shoots a laser blast through your heart?”

“Kaydel!” Rose glared at her teammate.  How could she ever say that? 

Though Rose knew that only a year ago she would have believed the same.

That the First Order was pure evil, and that Armitage Hux was a murdering bantha turd. 

That a First Order general- or anyone in the First Order, really -could never join the Resistance on a change of heart. 

“Look, I met Arm back when the Resistance was running out of fuel. I went on some crazy suicide mission with Finn to find a code breaker and shut down the tracker. And I bit him. Hard, too.” She smiled at the memory. “And back then, it was my proudest moment. We met again maybe a few months later, while I was on a special mission to recover some data tapes. We literally ran into each other, and just stood there. Our blasters were raised, but neither of us shot. He made a choice that day. To help the Resistance. He let me go, and let me take the data tapes too. He’s a good person Kaydel, and if you want to stay with this team, you’re going to have to understand that. End of discussion.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you’re a Kaydel fan, I honestly have no idea what happened. She was supposed to be a really good person. Then stuff happened, and now she just hates Arm. I apologize.


	9. Chapter 9

“Okay, we’re not using Rogue Two,” Rose whispered. “That’s definitely out.”

“Oh come on, it really isn’t  _ that  _ bad,” Arm whispered back. 

“I don’t know, it just sounds like we’re stealing their name.”

“Come on Rose,” Kaydel protested. “What about...Operation Exegol?”

“I don’t really care. Let’s wait until we’re out of here and safe. Okay?”

“Fine. Party crasher...”

“Shh!” Arm whisper-yelled. “Stormtroopers!” 

They all fell silent, the argument forgotten. Thankfully, the ‘troopers walked by without noticing the three rebels sneaking around the base. When they were finally gone, Rose checked her miniature holomap.

“Are you sure we’re going in the right direction?”

“Of course,” Arm confirmed. “I know this place like the back of my hand.”

Kaydel rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we know. How much longer until you lead us into a whole unit of stormtroopers that just _happen_ to be waiting with binders and blasters?”

“Kaydel!” Rose scolded quietly, trying to ignore the tiny part of her mind that realized the truth in her words.


	10. Chapter 10

“Not to be rude or anything, but Rose, you do have a plan for once we get to the Wayfinder. Right? It’s not going to take a genius to realize that the most important object in the First Order’s missing.”

”Of course. That’s why we have this,” she said, pulling out a small hunk of metal. 

“Whoa, where’d you find that?” Kaydel asked.

“I didn’t,” she whispered proudly. “I made it. It should be the exact same size as the Wayfinder. No one will be able to know by looking at it. And it should weigh about the same too, maybe a little more since I had to get it to glow a little. The lights and power for them add weight that the Wayfinder doesn’t have.”

“If we get back to the Resistance, you  _ have  _ to teach me how to do that,” Arm whispered. Rose could hear the note of pride in his voice.

“When we get back,” she corrected gently, and they leaned toward each other-

“I really hate to interrupt this touching moment you two, but we should  _ probably  _ get going so we can actually use Rose’s Wayfinder,” Kaydel said. “If we get caught before we can replace them, well we’re going to be in some pretty big trouble.”  


”Sorry,” they apologized, before continuing on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aah, these chapters are just getting shorter and shorter! Sorry!


	11. Chapter 11

If there was one thing worse than being stuck with an arguing Armitage and Kaydel on a medium-sized ship, it was being stuck with them in a tiny box. 

“You’re poking me,” Kaydel complained.

“Not really any way to fix that,” Rose replied. They were all crammed together in a supply crate, and there was barely enough room for two of them to fit. Three was just pushing their luck- and testing their patience.

Suddenly, the crate jolted and they were all thrown into each other. 

“Whoever’s foot is on my face, could you please get it off?” Arm asked. Rose would have laughed, if someone’s elbow wasn’t poking her in the eye.

“I think someone’s sitting on my head,” she added. ”But at least we’re heading for the ship. This ride should be over soon, and we can replace the Wayfinder and leave.”

“Which brings up another question: how are we leaving?” Kaydel asked. 

“That’s...sort of in progress based on what happens. Arm, do you know where the escape pods are?”

“You don’t have a plan to get us out?!?!” Kaydel cried.

“I said it’s in progress! I’m workin on it!”

“Shh! I hear someone coming,” Arm warned. They sat in uncomfortable silence for a minute before the footsteps faded away. 

“I do know where the escape pods are, but I’m only showing you if you get your foot off my face,” he whispered finally.


	12. Chapter 12

“Hurry up Rose!” Kaydel said nervously, scanning the hallway for approaching enemies. 

“I know, I just need to make sure I got all the details right. If anyone notices that this is a fake, we’ll be in  _ big  _ trouble.” 

She carefully compared the two Wayfinders. They looked identical, and the weight difference was nearly imperceptible.  _Perfect_.

“Alright,” she said, exchanging the real Wayfinder for her fake. “No one should be able to notice the difference. I mean, unless they actually tried to use it or something.”

“Great,” Arm said. “Let’s go. I’ve been on this ship before, I can find the nearest escape pods.”

“What is it with guys and escape pods?” Rose muttered.

“What about escape pods?” Kaydel asked.

“Oh, nothing! Come on, let’s just get going before anyone notices.”

“Alright.”

They snuck down the hallway, jumping at every sound. Rose heard voices echo through the long, empty halls. 

_ Wait a minute...one of those voices sounds...almost... _ She froze, listening harder.  _ No way. It can’t be... _ But there was no mistaking it. Rose knew that voice.

“Guys, we gotta hide! It’s Finn, Poe, and Rey! They’re here too!”


	13. Chapter 13

“In here!” Arm whisper-yelled, pulling the girls into a small supply closet.  _Convenient. Well, I’ll take convenient right now_.

They huddled together in tense silence. Kaydel opened the door to let the tiniest sliver of light in, and they managed to adjust themselves more comfortably as they waited.

“If we’re caught and shipped back to the Resistance...” Kaydel whispered uncertainly. “Arm...you’re not that bad. I’m sorry for being rude to you and Rose. I’m glad you want to help the Resistance. And I’m glad you’re on our team. Even if you were sitting on me in the supply crate.”

“Glad to see you finally came around,” Arm whispered, and Rose knew he was grinning despite the darkness.

They all fell silent again as footsteps echoed outside. Through the tiny crack in the door, Rose spotted Rey, Finn, and Poe.  _ Wait...where’s Chewie? _

After the trio disappeared (plus a few more minutes to make sure no one else was coming), everyone climbed out of the closet.

“Did anyone see Chewie?” Rose asked quietly.

“No,” Kaydel replied.

”Do you think...?” Arm didn’t finish his question. No one answered.

“It’s...it’s possible,” Kaydel said finally.

“It can’t be.” Rose argued.

“I mean it could,” Arm started, but she silenced him with a deadly look.

  
”Chewie’s probably with the  _ Falcon _ ,” Kaydel guessed. “There’s no way he would’ve left that thing alone on a First Order ship. And Threepio and BB-8 weren’t with them either. He’s probably back on the ship with them, making sure the stormtroopers don’t try to capture the ship. It’s fine Rose.”

“I know...I just feel like something’s wrong.”

“And now you sound like a Jedi,” Arm teased. “What is it Master Tico? Do you sense a disturbance in the force?”

”Oh shut up,” she said halfheartedly, kissing his cheek. Or at least trying to. He turned at the last minute so her lips met his. Kaydel looked away politely, but after a while she turned back to them.

“Okay you two, cute moment, but we are  on a First Order ship with a stolen Wayfinder- I don’t know about you, but I think we should really get going.”

“Yeah, we’re coming.” 


	14. Chapter 14

Fifteen minutes later, Kaydel turned a corner and skittered backward without warning. Rose crashed into her, and started to fall, but Kaydel and Arm caught her.

“You okay?” Arm started to ask, but Kaydel’s free hand shot out to cover his mouth. He shot her a glare before noticing her panicked look. She motioned silently around the corner in front of them, eyes wide. They all leaned forward slightly too see around it and pulled back like they’d been slapped. 

“ _ Kylo Ren _ ,” Rose mouthed.

Kaydel nodded, still deathly pale.

“What if you’re caught?” She mouthed to Arm. Rose’s own eyes widened almost comically as she realized how much more danger he was in as a traitor to the First Order.

He shook his head. ”Let’s not talk about that. But...is he talking to the wall?”

Rose and Kaydel shared a confused glance before taking another peek.

“He’s talking to the wall,” Kaydel confirmed silently.

“And he’s talking about a girl,” Rose said quietly. “I’m betting he means a certain Jedi.”

“You think?” Kaydel asked.

“I hope not, but other than Leia, who died... there aren’t many other Resistance fighters who are well-known. Besides, she’s a Jedi, and she’s beat him before. She’s one of very few people who can win against him in a fight.”

“Guys, while your concern is great, and normally I would also join...we might want to worry about our _own_ lives. Besides, I’m sure she knows what he thinks about her by now.”

They looked around the corner again and found it empty.

“Let’s go then?” Kaydel asked.

“Lead the way Lieutenant.”


	15. Chapter 15

“We’re almost back to the hangar,” Kaydel confirmed.

“Great. From there we just steal a ship and-“

“Hey! You three!” A stormtrooper called.

“Rebels!” Another yelled, and suddenly Rose, Arm, and Kaydel were caught in a hailstorm of blaster fire.

Rose pulled her friends into a small niche in the wall.

“We gotta blast ‘em!” Kaydel cried, holding up her own blaster.

“Alright, be careful!” Arm yelled over the din. They all fired at the stormtroopers, but few of their shots actually hit the target.

“Not working!” Rose panicked.

“Cover me!” Before any of them could object, Kaydel had darted out of the niche and stood in the hallway, blasting the troopers.

“Kaydel wait!” She didn’t listen. A stray bullet caught her arm, and she cried out, but kept firing.

“Rose, do something!” Rose searched the small area for any stray weapons or a way to escape.

“In the wise words of Princess Leia: into the garbage chute, you guys!” She blasted a small grate, before shoving Arm forward. He shot her a look before diving inside.

“I’ll go last!” Kaydel yelled back. Rose gave her a quick thumbs up as she closed her eyes and slid inside like a child riding a slide.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t write fight scenes, I apologize for the terrible blaster fight.


	16. Chapter 16

They all quickly realized that it wasn’t a garbage chute, but a ventilation shaft. Kaydel’s screams echoed through the slippery slide, along with thumps and muffled grunts as they all banged into the walls.

“NOSTOPSTOPSTOP!!!” Kaydel cried suddenly, and Rose scrambled for a handhold. The sides of the tube were smooth as glass, and all she managed to do was burn the tips of her fingers as they dragged along the walls. She heard a loud thud and braced herself for impact as she slammed into Arm.

“Oww...” he moaned, trying to adjust himself so he wasn’t sitting on Kaydel’s head.

“Sorry,” she muttered sheepishly.

“Little late for that,” Kaydel sighed. “Just give me a minute and I can get this grate opened. Does anyone have a thin stick or something I could fit in this lock?”

“Would a hairpin work?”

A short pause. “Probably.”

Rose pulled a pin out of her hair. Part of her messy bun hung free, but she shoved it out of her face and passed the pin to Arm. He handed it down to Kaydel.

After a few minutes of tinkering, the grate clattered to the floor. The Wayfinders followed, landing in a tangled heap in the middle of the hallway. 

“Is everyone okay?” Arm asked, pulling himself up and extending a hand to Rose. She took it greatfully, stumbling to her feet.

“The world seems to be spinning,” she said dizzily. “Anyone else notice?”

“I’m fine,” Kaydel managed, leaning against a wall. “You two standing on my head hurts after a while. She laughed halfheartedly.

“Is your arm okay?” Rose asked. Kaydel had been shot by one of the troopers.

“I’m fine. The hangar’s just down the hall, we can steal a ship. We’ll take care of minor injuries when we’re safe.”

_ Let’s just hope we make it that far... _


	17. Chapter 17

“Which ship?” Kaydel asked.

“Escape pods are over here,” Arm called, waving the girls over.

“Great. No one’ll notice it’s gone, right?” The last thing they needed was a whole squadron of TIEs after them.

“Course not. There’s thousands of these things. And if anyone does notice, they’ll just think it’s a malfunction.”

“Alright. Here, this one looks like it could fit us all.”

Kaydel studied it for a minute. “Hmm...built for four people, should have enough rations and water for us to last a week, there’s enough fuel to get us back to the Resistance, but it’d be pretty close, though there’s a water purifier on board along with a basic medpac.”

“Did you figure all that out just by looking at the ship?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

Arm shot her an impressed look. “Woah. I thought you said you’ve never been on any missions before.”

“I haven’t.”  


” The rebels don’t know you can do that?”

”Nope.”

“It would really help out on missions.”

Rose grinned as she watched the two finally getting along.  _ I knew she’d come around _ .

“Well according to Kaydel, this should be enough. Let’s get out of here.”


	18. Chapter 18

“Hold still,” Rose scolded.

”I’m trying!”

”Well try harder.”

Kaydel squirmed impatiently and fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.

”There,” Rose said finally, tucking the last strand of hair into place. “Finished.”

A neat braid crown hid the locks that had been burned by a stray blaster bolt. Kaydel gently ran her fingers over the braids. “Thanks Rose.”

”Anytime. I used to do Paige’s a lot.”

”She was your sister, wasn’t she?”

”Yeah.”

A tinny whistle began to sound, interrupting their conversation and forcing the trio to cover their ears. “What’s wrong?”

Arm checked the console. His eyes widened visibly. “No...how...it’s impossible,” he murmured. _Not a good sign_.

”What?”

”First Order.” _Also not a good sign_.

”Here?” Kaydel asked, grabbing her blaster. She winced, and the bandage they’d wrapped around her injured arm turned red with blood.

”No. We’re still safe.” Something was still wrong, though. Rose knew him well enough to see that.

”Then what happened?” She leaned over to read the console, but the language wasn’t one she understood.

”They just blew up Kijimi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this hasn’t updated in forever, I know. There should be a new chapter within a few days, though. Maybe three to four days?


	19. Chapter 19

“General Le- Dameron!” Rose cried, practically sprinting out of the escape pod. Kaydel and Arm followed on her heels. “We’ve got it! A way to-“ she paused, noticing the stares and murmurs from the crowds of Resistance fighters. “What’s wrong?”

She skidded to a halt, and Kaydel crashed into her. Arm just barely managed to stop in time; he helped the girls back up and turned to face the crowd.

”Wayfinders. We’ve got an audience.”

”I think I noticed that,” Kaydel hissed, but not angrily. She sounded more stressed than anything. “That is a _lot_ of people. The Resistance didn’t seem this big before...”

”Don’t like speaking in front of crowds?” Rose asked with a smile. “Don’t worry,” she added, seeing Kaydel’s embarrassed expression. “I’m scared of the dark.” Night was when the First Order had destroyed her home.

”What’s going on?” Poe asked, cutting through the crowd. “Hux? What are you doing here?!?”

”We brought the Wayfinder,” Arm said, holding out the artifact.

”But- but _we_ found it,” Finn said, catching up to Poe and shooting a confused look towards the Wayfinder.

”You found a fake,” Rose explained. “We switched the real Wayfinder for a fake one I made.”

”So you’re telling me...”

“We’re telling you that this is the Wayfinder, and we need to get to Exegol to destroy the First Order’s army before they destroy another planet,” Arm said. “And we all know which one will be next.” The word ‘ours’ remained unspoken.

”Well...I don’t know what to say about all this,” Poe admitted. “But I trust Rose. So...let’s go find Exegol. And finish the First Order for good.”

As the rest of the Resistance leapt into action, Rose finally let herself relax and smile.


	20. Chapter 20

“You made it!” Rose hadn’t even stepped off the transport before Kaydel and Arm practically tackled her with a hug.

”You guys are alive!”

“Course we are,” Kaydel said, smiling from ear to ear.

”And if we weren’t, we’d come back to haunt you for the rest of your days,” Arm teased.

”Creep.”

”Rebel scum.”

Kaydel rolled her eyes, stuck out her tongue at them, and ran off to greet the other fighters.

”So Rose, I’ve been thinking.”

”I didn’t know that was something you could do.”

”Serious, Rose. I’ve been thinking...that I’m finally ready to officially leave the First Order. And help do some good in the galaxy.”

“Well I’ve been thinking that I’m done with this whole destroying things and fighting a war. And it does seem like said war is over now anyway...”

”Which leaves plenty of time for the two of us to spend time together. In real life, not just through video calls. What do you say, Miss Tico?”

”I think that’s a great idea, Mr. Hux.” Rose burst out laughing. She couldn’t help it, it was getting so hard to keep a straight face.

”Oh, fine,” Arm sighed.

Then they kissed, and it truly was a fairy-tale ending.


End file.
